Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Sunday said Congress President Rahul Gandhi's contest in Wayanad in the state could only be seen as a move to fight the Left parties and not the BJP and asserted that the LDF would defeat him in the April 23 Lok Sabha elections.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Sunday alleged the Narendra Modi government was quick to take credit for action of the armed forces against terrorists but failed to gave them bullet proof vehicles which could have prevented the attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Accusing the BJP of indulging in "despicable politics", Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, Sunday alleged that the ruling party had conspired to field Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat to divide the Dalit votes.

Azad had announced earlier this month that he will contest the general elections from Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi Sunday promised to provide special category status to Andhra Pradesh, if the party was voted to power in coming Lok Sabha elections, and expressed surprise that parties in the state failed to 'aggressively' push the issue.

A MiG 27 aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed on Sunday near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, official sources said.

The Pakistan Army Sunday targeted forward posts and villages along the LoC in Rajouri district with mortars and small arms firing, a Defence spokesman said.

A 27-hour countdown began Sunday for the launch of India's EMISAT satellite along with 28 nano satellites of global customers from Sriharikota Monday, a mission which would witness the ISRO placing payloads in three orbits and conducting space experiments for the first time.

Thirteen coaches of the Chhapra-Surat Tapti Ganga Express derailed at Gautamsthan in Varanasi, officials said Sunday.

No casualties have been reported.